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Chapter 1

The document provides an introduction to renewable energies and solar energy in particular. It discusses how fossil fuel depletion and global warming have directed researchers towards renewable energy sources like solar power. Solar photovoltaic systems convert sunlight to electricity through the photovoltaic effect. The main aim of the project is to provide an efficient way of tracing the maximum sunlight source to power a solar panel. A dual axis solar tracker is more efficient than stationary or single axis systems at generating power by ensuring the sun is always incident normal to the panel surface. The block diagram shows the components used in the dual axis solar tracking system including sensors, motors, microcontroller and display.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
72 views50 pages

Chapter 1

The document provides an introduction to renewable energies and solar energy in particular. It discusses how fossil fuel depletion and global warming have directed researchers towards renewable energy sources like solar power. Solar photovoltaic systems convert sunlight to electricity through the photovoltaic effect. The main aim of the project is to provide an efficient way of tracing the maximum sunlight source to power a solar panel. A dual axis solar tracker is more efficient than stationary or single axis systems at generating power by ensuring the sun is always incident normal to the panel surface. The block diagram shows the components used in the dual axis solar tracking system including sensors, motors, microcontroller and display.

Uploaded by

Velmurugan N
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Renewable energies has proven as a great source for the past decades, and are currently
widely-used in industrial and household applications. Recently, a significant trend in the
production of renewable energy has been made via proposing several inventions, technical,
mechanical and material alternatives. Solar energy occupies an important part in energy
generation and scientific research, which seeks to increase and improve production. The
increase of energy consumption since the industrial revolution has led to concerns associated
with environmental impacts and resource depletion, particularly because most of the energy
originates from fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Fossil fuel depletion and global warming are
the two most important concerns for the sustainability of energy systems in the future. Energy
dependence, the limitation of fossil energy sources, and the negative environmental impacts
of fossil fuels have directed researchers towards renewable energy sources. Besides its other
benefits, solar energy, as a renewable source, is infinite and pollution-less. The government
started encouraging people to use renewable energy sources like hydro and solar. One such
example of renewable energy is solar power. Solar energy is a very large, inexhaustible
source of energy. Besides its other benefits, solar energy, as a renewable source, is infinite
and pollution-less. Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, which are well known for their structure
and low maintenance costs. Solar cells convert direct sunlight into direct current through the
photovoltaic effect. A solar tracker is a device used for orienting a photovoltaic array solar
panel or for concentrating solar reflector or lens toward the sun. A Solar tracker is a system or
device that orients various photovoltaic and solar thermal panels toward the sun. It ensures
that the direct beam from the sun is incident normal to the surface of the panels at all times.
Installing a solar tracker to a solar system proves to be more efficient than a stationary solar
system in terms of power generation. Thus our main aim of this project is to provide an
efficient way of tracing the maximum sunlight source to power the solar panel. The stationary
solar panel provides less output compared to the dual axis solar tracking. The single axis
tracking tracks the sunlight source in only one direction, either up to down or left to right.
Comparing with these two systems, the dual axis tracking gives more efficient output than the
other two systems. There are some sensors included with this work as part of sensory unit.
The LDR, Temperature sensor, Humidity sensor and Dust sensor were used as the input from
sensory unit. For control unit, we use Arduino Uno. NodeMCU used here as the Wi-Fi
module.

1.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM

The solar tracking helps to increase the output from solar panel gradually. By doing
so there will be sufficient power to operate equipment within its limits. There will be
numbers of components placed to provide support of mechanical and software structure in
this design. The compact size of this structure allows it to be placed in any surfaces and easy
to move. Although the structure size vary according to the users’ applications.

1
LCD

LDR TEMPERATURE
SENSOR
SOLAR
PANEL HUMIDITY
SENSOR

DUAL AXIS VOLTAGE


MOTOR ARDUINO SENSOR
SYSYTM UNO
DUST
WIFI SENSOR

POWER
SUPPLY

Fig. 1.1 Block Diagram

The dual axis solar panel uses specialized gear motor to operate the movements of
panel in different directions. Two gear motors used here, one gear motor is placed on the one
side of the solar panel (either left or right), the other motor is placed in the bottom of the
panel. These motors supports the physical structure of that panel and helps is changing the
directions according to the LDR input. The motor fixed in the side rotates its axis up and
down along with the panel clamped to it. Motor fixed in the bottom rotates the solar panel in
left and right directions.

As the block diagram shows that there are many input lines connected to the main
controller i.e., the Arduino UNO controller that performs the main task in controlling the
several parameters in this design. The LDR is placed in four areas of solar panel, the top,
bottom, left and right sides of the panel. The LDR plays a vital role by detecting the intensity
of the sun light. The information gathered form the LDR is sent to the Arduino controller. A
predefined value is set for the LDR through the Arduino. When it reaches the defined limit, a
signal is given from the controller to the motor unit.

The sensory unit contains the LDR, Temperature sensor, Humidity sensor, Voltage
sensor and Dust sensor. The Temperature sensor detects the atmospheric temperature near the
solar panel. It gives the gathered information to the controller. Similarly the Humidity sensor
detects and gives the gathered humidity value to the controller. The Dust sensor plays a vital
role in this structure. Dust form the atmosphere may affect the efficiency of solar panel. So in
order to avoid certain situations it is necessary to calculate and monitor the contamination of
Dust particle in the surface of solar panel. The Dust sensor gives the appropriate calculated
values from the solar panel and gives information to the Arduino controller. The Voltage
sensor provides the information about the panel voltage from the solar panel and it helps to
calculate the efficiency in no load condition of the solar panel.

2
The display unit contains the LCD display that provides the calculated values of
output from the Arduino controller. Here it displays the temperature value, humidity value,
voltage value and dust contamination value. The Wi-Fi module uses the NodeMCU
connected to the main Arduino controller. This provides the IOT application to monitor the
working of the solar panel from anywhere through accessing the internet. The IOT used here
provides high advantage in monitoring the Dual-axis solar panel design and its structures.
There will be enough power supply to operate the total project design. An adaptor is used to
supply 5v to the system design through the Arduino board.

Usually the solar panel output may vary according to the environmental conditions.
The solar panel in rooftops or any surface where the maximum sunlight gathered could be
fixed in certain angle and no rotation or movement will be in that solar panel. Solar panel gets
the best performance at a steep angle of 60 degree. In Single-axis mode, the solar panel
moves in either left and right or up and down. This will increase the performance of solar
panel slightly. In Dual-axis mode, the panel rotates in both left, right and up, down. This
condition increase the performance enormously and gives better output than any other mode.

3
CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 A New Design of Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System with LDR sensors by Using the
Wheatstone Bridge Circuit

Mahdi saeedi, Reza Effatnejad, 2021 The sun moves from east to west during the
day and its radiation angle changes relative to the Earth in different seasons. So, the output
power of PV panels changes as well. The output power of PV panels increases by being
located in a position perpendicular to the angle of the sun’s rays. This study aims to design
and implement a dual-axis solar tracker (DAST) to increase the output power of the PV
panel. This simple system has high efficiency and adjusts the PV panel based on solar
radiation by moving simultaneously on two axes. An analog controller is used for its control
system. DAST control system is a closed-loop system that uses Wheatstone bridge circuit
function along with light-dependent resistors (LDRs). A small DAST was designed and built
to validate the proposed system, the performance of which was verified. Based on the
experiments, I-V and P-V specifications were obtained. Finally, it was found that the output
power of the PV panel using solar tracker was higher than that of the fixed panel.

2.2 Automated Dual Axis Sun Tracking Solar Panels based on LDR and RTC Sensor

Abhijeet Deshmukh, Prashant Devmane, Rajas Ambekar, Pawar Piyush, Prof.


Maheshwari N Patil, 2021 A viable approach to maximizing the solar panel efficiency is
solar tracking. Many of the solar panels throughout the world are positioned with the fixed
angles. To maximize the use of the solar panel we use a solar tracker which orients itself
along the direction of the sunlight. The solar tracker positions the panel in a hemispheroidal
rotation to track the movement of the sun and thus increase the total electricity generation.
This paper focuses on the development of new approach to control the movement of the solar
panel. The purpose of this paper is to simulate and implement the most suitable and efficient
control algorithm on the dual-axis solar tracker which can rotate in azimuth and elevation
direction. The simulation gives the tracker angles that position the solar panel along the sun’s
rays such that maximum solar irradiation is absorbed by the panel .This paper therefore
proposes an automatic version of dual axis sun tracking solar panels using LDR and RTC
sensors. The use of both LDR and RTC sensor makes it easy to track the sun path. LDR
sensor is used when there is no obstruction between sun and solar panels the intensity of light
decides the position of the solar panels because LDR sensor reacts to intensity of the light.
And when there is cloudy weather the RTC sensors comes into action ,programmed RTC
sensor positions the solar panel as the path of sun is stored in the program and micro
controller controls the sensors. Dual axis gives ease of rotation of solar panels.

2.3 Designing an Efficient PV Tracking System Analyzing Solar Incident Angles

Md. Samiul Basir, S. M. A. Zawad Hossain, Saeed Mahmud Ullah, 2021 In this
paper, we propose an effective and efficient model of PV tracking system using solar incident
angle. Position of the sun determines how much sunlight would fall directly on a PV surface.
This phenomenon affects the amount of energy that would be converted into electricity.
Aligning the PV panel to a suitable angle would increase the rate of conversion of sunlight to
electricity. Determining solar incident angles helps in aligning a PV panel properly. In this
4
following model, we have calculated the solar incident angle for a longitude and latitude.
Calculated incident angles are grouped into twelve months by taking their average value for
each month. Then, these values are used in an Arduino based microcontroller to align the PV
panel to a particular angle at different times of the day. The calculated annual average
enhancement of incident solar radiation has been found to be 22%.

2.4 On the PV Tracker Performance: Tracking the Sun Versus Tracking the Best
Orientation

Carlos D. Rodríguez-Gallegos, Oktoviano Gandhi, S. K. Panda, Thomas Reindl,


2020 This article models the performance of photovoltaic tracking algorithms worldwide,
based on the overall insolation collection, by comparing two tracking algorithms, namely
tracking the sun (TS) and tracking the best orientation (TBO). In general, the latter is
expected to receive higher irradiance with the drawback of requiring a higher installation and
maintenance cost (due extra sensors). The aim of this research is then to quantify how big
the difference is on irradiance collection from these two trackers worldwide by analyzing the
data from 61 ground weather stations. In addition, three different tracking mounting
structures are considered in this work: first, horizontal single axis tracker (HSAT); second,
tilted single axis tracker (TSAT); and third, dual axis tracker (2T). Furthermore, the
irradiance collection from front and rear sides are estimated for installations of mono facial
and bifacial modules. The simulations reveal that, although the TBO results are higher than
the TS ones, there is not a big difference on their insolation collection for latitude locations
below60° (<1.8%). Nevertheless, for higher latitude locations, TBO tracking systems can
achieve a considerably higher performance reaching values of up to 3.3%, 7.1%, and 2.9%
for HSAT, TSAT, and 2T systems, respectively. It was also observed that for bifacial and 2T
systems in particular, high albedo values would produce a considerable enhancement on the
TBO performance with respect to TS.

2.5 Development of a machine vision dual-axis solar tracking system

Masoumeh Abdollahpoura, Mahmood Reza Golzariana, Abbas Rohania,


Hossein Abootorabi Zarchib, 2018 Solar energy has been recently in the spotlight as a
renewable energy, which can be directly converted into electricity through solar panels. The
power output of photovoltaic systems is directly dependent upon the amount of solar
irradiation received. Therefore, these panels should be perpendicular to solar irradiation in
order to harvest the maximum possible power. Thus accurate solar trackers are central to the
performance of solar systems. This study proposes a dual-axial tracker that works based on
processing images of a bar shadow. The system was composed of a shadow casting object, a
webcam, electronic circuits, computer controls, and stepper motors. The webcam was used to
capture images of the shadow. The study results showed that the tracker system followed the
sun with an accuracy of about±2° and maintained the panel perpendicular to the irradiation
direction. This system works independent of its initial settings and can be used in any
geographical regions. It managed to hold the panel perpendicular to irradiation to receive the
maximum solar energy and thus generate the highest power output. The main limitation of
the system is its ineffectiveness in overcast weather conditions due to a pale shadow in the
images. This can be resolved by using a camera with a higher resolution, and the system can
be used in partly cloudy conditions.

2.6 Novel Online Sensorless Dual-Axis Sun Tracker

H. Fathabadi, 2017 In this study, a novel online sensorless dual-axis sun tracker
5
regulated by the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) unit is proposed. The MPPT
controller continuously calculates the maximum output power of the photovoltaic
module/panel/array, and uses the altitude and azimuth angles deviations to find the sun
direction where the greatest value of the maximum output power is extracted. Unlike all the
other sensorless sun trackers that operate as open loop systems, the proposed sun tracker is a
closed loop system which uses the actual direction of the sun at any time to track the sun
direction, and this is the contribution of this work. The proposed sun tracker has the
advantages of both sensor based and sensorless dual-axis sun trackers, but it does not have
their disadvantages. A photovoltaic system has been constructed, and it is experimentally
verified that the proposed sun tracker finds the sun direction with the tracking error of only
0.11° which is less than the tracking errors of other both sensor based and sensorless trackers.
An increase of 28.8%-43.6% in the captured solar energy depending on the seasons is the
main advantage of utilizing the proposed sun tracker. Unlike all the other sensorless sun
trackers, the proposed tracker consists of a closed loop system which uses only online data to
track the sun position. It was demonstrated that the sun tracker has the advantages of both
sensor based and sensorless dual-axis sun trackers, but it does not have their disadvantages. It
was also experimentally verified that the tracking error of the tracker is only 0.11°.

2.7 Design, Construction and Test of a Solar Tracking System Using Photo Sensor

C. J. Nwanyanwu, M. O. Dioha, 2017 For optimal harnessing of solar radiation, it is


important to orient the solar collectors or PV modules with the changing direction of the daily
solar irradiation. A solar tracking system consisting of a photo sensor was designed and
tested in Kumasi, Ghana. The solar tracking system, include a quadrate array of sensor made
up of four Light Dependent Resistor, Potentiometer, Servo motors and a Microcontroller. The
designed system has a maximum angle of tolerance to be 2 degrees for any noticeable
response of the system to the movement of the sun. An experiment was carried out on the
working system to demonstrate the design functionality. Problems and possible
improvements were also presented.

2.8 Limits of Advisability for Master–Slave Configuration of DC–AC Converters in


Photovoltaic Systems

Filippo Spertino, Fabio Corona, and Paolo Di Leo, 2012 Several feed-in tariffs are
now available for photovoltaic (PV) systems, and thus, the maximization of the productivity
is very important; this goal can be achieved by solar cell technologies with high efficiency
and low temperature losses, one axis or dual axis sun-tracking systems, proper cooling
techniques for PV modules in building integrated applications, master–slave (M–S) control
for the inverters in large grid-connected PV plants, etc. About the last item, this paper deals
with the advisability of the master–slave concept versus the centralized inverter layout. Here,
attention is focused on the influence of the installation site with its irradiation peculiarities,
the tilt angle of the PV modules, the efficiency curve of the inverters, and the number of
slaves. The simulated productions put into evidence energy gains up to 4% per year,
considering the only cloudy-day contribution. On the basis of these comparisons, the M–S
concept can be profitable if the number of cloudy days is sufficiently high, the tilt angle is
adequate, and the dc–ac efficiency curve is “well shaped.

6
CHAPTER 3

COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION

3.1 Arduino UNO

Fig. 3.1 Arduino UNO board


3.1.1 General Description

Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P (datasheet). It has


14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16
MHz ceramic resonator (CSTCE16M0V53-R0), a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP
header and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller;
simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or
battery to get started. You can tinker with your Uno without worrying too much about doing
something wrong.

“Uno” means one in Italian and was chosen to mark the release of Arduino Software
(IDE) 1.0. The Uno board and version 1.0 of Arduino Software (IDE) were the reference
versions of Arduino, now evolved to newer releases. The Uno board is the first in a series of
USB Arduino boards, and the reference model for the Arduino platform; for an extensive list
of current, past or outdated boards see the Arduino index of boards. The Uno is one of the
more popular boards in the Arduino family and a great choice for beginners.

The Arduino platform has become quite popular with people just starting out with
electronics, and for good reason. Unlike most previous programmable circuit boards, the
Arduino does not need a separate piece of hardware (called a programmer) in order to load
new code onto the board – you can simply use a USB cable. Additionally, the Arduino IDE
uses a simplified version of C++, making it easier to learn to program. Finally, Arduino
provides a standard form factor that breaks out the functions of the micro-controller into a
more accessible package

7
There are many varieties of Arduino boards that can be used for different purposes.
Some boards look a bit different from the one below, but most Arduinos have the majority of
these components in common:

Fig. 3.2 Arduino pin Configuration

Power (USB / Barrel Jack):

Every Arduino board needs a way to be connected to a power source. The Arduino
UNO can be powered from a USB cable coming from your computer or a wall power supply
(like this) that is terminated in a barrel jack. In the picture above the USB connection is
labeled (1) and the barrel jack is labeled (2).

Pins (5V, 3.3V, GND, Analog, Digital, PWM, AREF):

The pins on your Arduino are the places where you connect wires to construct a
circuit (probably in conjunction with a bread board and some wire. They usually have black
plastic ‘headers’ that allow you to just plug a wire right into the board. The Arduino has
several different kinds of pins, each of which is labelled on the board and used for different
functions.

GND (3): Short for ‘Ground’. There are several GND pins on the Arduino, any of
which can be used to ground your circuit.

5V (4) & 3.3V (5): As you might guess, the 5V pin supplies 5 volts of power, and the
3.3V pin supplies 3.3 volts of power. Most of the simple components used with the Arduino
run happily off of 5 or 3.3 volts.

Analog (6): The area of pins under the ‘Analog In’ label (A0 through A5 on the UNO)
are Analog In pins. These pins can read the signal from an analog sensor (like a temperature
ensor) and convert it into a digital value that we can read.

Digital (7): Across from the analog pins are the digital pins (0 through 13 on the
UNO). These pins can be used for both digital input (like telling if a button is pushed) and
8
digital output (like powering an LED).

PWM (8): You may have noticed the tilde (~) next to some of the digital pins (3, 5, 6,
9, 10, and 11 on the UNO). These pins act as normal digital pins, but can also be used for
something called Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM).

AREF (9): Stands for Analog Reference. Most of the time you can leave this pin
alone. It is sometimes used to set an external reference voltage (between 0 and 5 Volts) as the
upper limit for the analog input pins.

Reset Button:

Just like the original Nintendo, the Arduino has a reset button (10). Pushing it will
temporarily connect the reset pin to ground and restart any code that is loaded on the
Arduino. This can be very useful if your code doesn’t repeat, but you want to test it multiple
times. Unlike the original Nintendo however, blowing on the Arduino doesn’t usually fix any
problems.

Power LED Indicator:

Just beneath and to the right of the word “UNO” on your circuit board, there’s a tiny
LED next to the word ‘ON’ (11). This LED should light up whenever you plug your Arduino
into a power source. If this light doesn’t turn on, there’s a good chance something is wrong.
Time to re-check your circuit!

TX RX LEDs:

TX is short for transmit; RX is short for receive. These markings appear quite a bit in
electronics to indicate the pins responsible for serial communication. In our case, there are
two places on the Arduino UNO where TX and RX appear – once by digital pins 0 and 1, and
a second time next to the TX and RX indicator LEDs (12). These LEDs will give us some
nice visual indications whenever our Arduino is receiving or transmitting data (like when
we’re loading a new program onto the board).

Main IC:

The black thing with all the metal legs is an IC, or Integrated Circuit (13). Think of it
as the brains of our Arduino. The main IC on the Arduino is slightly different from board
type to board type, but is usually from the Atmega line of IC’s from the ATMEL company.
This can be important, as you may need to know the IC type (along with your board type)
before loading up a new program from the Arduino software. This information can usually be
found in writing on the top side of the IC. This does the major work part in this system. It
plays the vital role.

Voltage Regulator:

The voltage regulator (14) is not actually something you can (or should) interact with
on the Arduino. But it is potentially useful to know that it is there and what it’s for. The
voltage regulator does exactly what it says – it controls the amount of voltage that is let into
the Arduino board. Think of it as a kind of gatekeeper; it will turn away an extra voltage that
might harm the circuit. Of course, it has its limits, so don’t hook up your Arduino to anything
greater than 20 volts.
9
TABLE 3.1 Technical specifications of Arduino UNO

S.NO: ITEMS SPECIFICATIONS

1. MICRO CONTROLLER Atmega328P


2. OPERATING VOLTAGE 5V
INPUT VOLTAGE
3. 7-12V
(RECOMMENDED)
4. INPUT VOLTAGE (LIMIT) 6-20V
14 (of which 6 provide PWM
5. DIGITAL I/O PINS
output)
6. PWM DIGITAL I/O PINS 6
7. ANALOG INPUT PINS 6
8. DC CURRENT PER I/O PIN 20 mA
9. DC CURRENT FOR 3.3V PIN 50 mA
32 KB (Atmega328P) of which
10. FLASH MEMORY
0.5 KB used by bootloader
11. SRAM 2 KB (Atmega328P)
12. EEPROM 1 KB (Atmega328P)
13. CLOCK SPEED 16 MHz
14. LED BUILTIN 13
15. LENGTH 68.6 mm
16. WIDTH 53.4 mm
17. WEIGHT 25 g

10
3.2 Solar panel

Fig. 3.3 Solar panel


3.2.1 General Description

A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module or solar panel is an


assembly of photo-voltaic cells mounted in a framework for installation. Solar panels
use sunlight as a source of energy to generate direct current electricity. A collection of PV
modules is called a PV panel, and a system of PV panels is called an array.

Arrays of a photovoltaic system supply solar electricity to electrical equipment.


Photovoltaic modules use light energy (photons) from the Sun to generate electricity through
the photovoltaic effect. Most modules use wafer-based crystalline silicon cells or thin-film
cells.

A single solar module can produce only a limited amount of power; most installations
contain multiple modules adding voltages or current to the wiring and PV system. A
photovoltaic system typically includes an array of photovoltaic modules, an inverter, a battery
pack for energy storage, charge controller, interconnection wiring, circuit breakers, fuses,
disconnect switches, voltage meters, and optionally a solar tracking mechanism. Equipment is
carefully selected to optimize output, energy storage, reduce power loss during power
transmission, and conversion from direct current to alternating current.

Solar trackers increase the energy produced per module at the cost of mechanical
complexity and increased need for maintenance. They sense the direction of the Sun and tilt
or rotate the modules as needed for maximum exposure to the light.

Alternatively, fixed racks can hold modules stationary throughout the day at a given
tilt (zenith angle) and facing a given direction (azimuth angle). Tilt angles equivalent to an
installation's latitude are common. Some systems may also adjust the tilt angle based on the
time of year.

The solar panel here used is 12V 10Watt which is Engineered with high-efficiency
polycrystalline silicon solar cells. This is the best quality solar panel found in a comparative
market with excellent performance even weak sunlight. It is Durable anti-eye enough to make
11
a unique processing panel, perfect for making solar robots and for using general solar panel.

3.2.2 Features

Type of Product : Solar Panel & Module

Material : Steel

Panel Wattage : 10Watt

Voltage : 12V

Dimensions : 34x28.5x2mm

Weight : 1.125gm

Best in Class conversion efficiency. Anti-reflective coating for more light absorption
optically, mechanically and electrically tested.

High quality solar panel with high efficiency and smaller footprint compared to our
regular monocrystalline models. An easy way to keep your 12V batteries topped up and ready
to go on your caravan, farm equipment, the spare car, or on the shed out the back. The dust
and weather resistant panel features a robust frame.

3.3 Geared DC motor

Geared DC motors can be defined as an extension of DC motor which already had its
Insight details demystified here. A geared DC Motor has a gear assembly attached to the
motor. The speed of motor is counted in terms of rotations of the shaft per minute and is
termed as RPM .The gear assembly helps in increasing the torque and reducing the speed.
Using the correct combination of gears in a gear motor, its speed can be reduced to any
desirable figure. This concept where gears reduce the speed of the vehicle but increase its
torque is known as gear reduction.  This Insight will explore all the minor and major details
that make the gear head and hence the working of geared DC motor.

The DC motor works over a fair range of voltage. The higher the input voltage more
is the RPM (rotations per minute) of the motor. For example, if the motor works in the range
of 6-12V, it will have the least RPM at 6V and maximum at 12 V.

In terms of voltage, we can put the equation as:

RPM= K1 * V, where,

K1= induced voltage constant

V=voltage applied

3.3.1 Motor Description

DC Motor – 300RPM – 12Volts geared motors are generally a simple DC motor with

12
a gearbox attached to it. This can be used in all-terrain robots and variety of robotic
applications. These motors have a 3 mm threaded drill hole in the middle of the shaft thus
making it simple to connect it to the wheels or any other mechanical assembly.

300 RPM 12V DC geared motors widely used for robotics applications. Very easy to
use and available in standard size. Also, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to control
motors with an Arduino or compatible board. The most popular L298N H-bridge module
with onboard voltage regulator motor driver can be used with this motor that has a voltage of
between 5 and 35V DC or you can choose the most precise motor diver module from the
wide range available in our Motor divers category as per your specific requirements.

Nut and threads on the shaft to easily connect and internally threaded shaft for easily
connecting it to the wheel. DC Geared motors with robust metal gearbox for heavy-duty
applications, available in the wide RPM range and ideally suited for robotics and industrial
applications. Very easy to use and available in standard size. Nut and threads on the shaft to
easily connect and internally threaded shaft for easily connecting it to the wheel.

Fig. 3.4 Internal structure of Geared DC motor

13
Fig. 3.5 External structures of Geared DC motor

Fig. 3.6 Motor shaft arrangement

14
Fig. 3.7 DC motor Speed and load characteristics.
3.3.2 Characteristic of Speed and Load of Dc motor
The relationship between torque vs speed and current is linear as shown left ; as the
load on a motor increases, speed will decrease. The graph pictured here represents the
characteristics of a typical motor. As long as the motor is used in the area of high efficiency
(as represented by the shaded area) long life and good performance can be expected.
However, using the motor outside this range will result in high temperature rises and
deterioration of motor parts.
If voltage in continuous applied to a motor in a locked rotor condition, the motor will
heat up and fail in a relatively short time. Therefore it is important that there is some form of
protection against high temperature rises. A motor's basic rating point is slightly lower than
its maximum efficiency point.
Load torque can be determined by measuring the current drawn when the motor is
attached to a machine whose actual load value is known. We will select the most suitable
motor for your application after receiving your information.

3.3.3 CHARACTERISTICS AND RATED PERFORMANCE OF A GEARED MOTOR


Speed reduction by means of a gear box results in increased torque. The
reduction/increase is determined by the gear ratio and efficiency of the gear box. Over-all
efficiency depends on the number of reduction stages : one average is 90% per stage.
Therefore : a two stage reduction gives 90×90=81% ; 3 stages will be 72.9% and a 4-stage
reduction 66%.
Stall torque of a geared motor can be calculated using the following formula : Motor
stall torque×gear ratio×efficiency.
The output loading on a gear box must never exceed the manufactures “specified
rated torque” as this will cause premature gear failure. It is particularly important to observe
this at slow output speeds when the calculated output torque exceeds the specified rated
torque.

3.3.4 Specifications and Features

RPM: 300.

Operating Voltage: 12V DC

Gearbox: Attached Plastic (spur)Gearbox

Shaft diameter: 6mm with internal hole

Torque: 2 kg-cm 

No-load current = 60 mA(Max)

Load current = 300 mA(Max).

3.3.5 Benefits of Geared DC motor

The main aim of using gear motor are:

15
 Everything in one box

 Easy to control

 Wide range of speeds, sizes and options

 Mounting

 Durability

 Robust

3.3.6 Applications

DC gear motors are used primarily in automotive applications such as power winches
on trucks, windshield wiper motors and power seat or power window motors. Jacks, cranes,
lifts, clamping, robotics, conveyance, and mixing are just some of the applications
gearmotors are used for in industry. Gearmotors are an important component in a variety of
applications. They’re the adequate source of power many industries need for their equipment
to function properly. Multi Products can design, engineer and supply the gearmotors needed
for optimal performance, no matter the application. Geared motors can also be used in these
below devices:

 Peristaltic pumps

 Food service equipment

 Valve actuator

 Damper actuator

 Pitching machines

 Label and packing equipment

 Oil skimmers

 Medical and health care

 Gaming

 Agriculture and farming

 Sporting equipment

16
3.4 DC Motor Driver

DC motor drives are defined as amplifiers or power modules that interface between a
controller and a DC motor. They convert step and direction input from the controller to
currents and voltages compatible with the motor.

Fig. 3.8 L298 2A Dual Motor Driver Module with PWM Control

3.4.1 General Description

This L298 Based Motor Driver Module is a high power motor driver perfect for
driving DC Motors and Stepper Motors. It uses the popular L298 motor driver IC and has the
onboard 5V regulator which it can supply to an external circuit. It can control up to 4 DC
motors, or 2 DC motors with directional and speed control

This motor driver is perfect for robotics and mechatronics projects and perfect for
controlling motors from microcontrollers, switches, relays, etc. Perfect for driving DC and
Stepper motors for micro mouse, line following robots, robot arms, etc.

An H-Bridge is a circuit that can drive a current in either polarity and be controlled by
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM).

Pulse Width Modulation is a means of controlling the duration of an electronic pulse.


In motors try to imagine the brush as a water wheel and electrons as the flowing droplets of
water. The voltage would be the water flowing over the wheel at a constant rate, the more
water flowing the higher the voltage. Motors are rated at certain voltages and can be damaged
if the voltage is applied to heavily or if it is dropped quickly to slow the motor down. Thus
PWM. Take the water wheel analogy and think of the water hitting it in pulses but at a
constant flow. The longer the pulses the faster the wheel will turn, the shorter the pulses, the
slower the water wheel will turn. Motors will last much longer and be more reliable if
controlled through PWM.

3.4.2 Features

Driver chip: L298 dual H-bridge driver chip.

17
Operates up to 35V DC

Drive part of the peak current Io: 2A / Bridge

Logical part of the terminal power supply range Vss :4.5V-5.5V

Logical part of the operating current range: 0 ~ 36mA

Maximum power consumption: 20W

3.4.3 Pins

Out 1: Motor A lead out

Out 2: Motor A lead out

Out 3: Motor B lead out

Out 4: Mo (Can actually be from 5v-35v, just marked as 12v)

GND: Ground

5v: 5v input (unnecessary if your power source is 7v-35v, if the power source is 7v-
35v then it can act as a 5v out)

EnA: Enables PWM signal for Motor A (Please see the “Arduino Sketch
Considerations” section)

In1: Enable Motor A

In2: Enable Motor A

In3: Enable Motor B

In4: Enable Motor B

EnB: Enables PWM signal for Motor B

3.4.4 Usage

H-bridges are typically used in controlling motors speed and direction but can be used
for other projects such as driving the brightness of certain lighting projects such as high
powered LED arrays.

18
3.5 NodeMCU

Fig. 3.9 ESP-12E NodeMCU module


3.5.1 General Description

NodeMCU is a low-cost open source IoT platform. It initially included firmware


which runs on the ESP8266 Wi-Fi SoC from Espressif Systems, and hardware which was
based on the ESP-12 module. Later, support for the ESP32 32-bit MCU was added.

NodeMCU is an open source firmware for which open source prototyping board


designs are available. The name "NodeMCU" combines "node" and "MCU" (micro-
controller unit). The term "NodeMCU" strictly speaking refers to the firmware rather than the
associated development kits. Both the firmware and prototyping board designs are open
source.

The firmware uses the Lua scripting language. The firmware is based on the eLua
project, and built on the Espressif Non-OS SDK for ESP8266. It uses many open source
projects, such as lua-cjson. The prototyping hardware typically used is a circuit board
functioning as a dual in-line package (DIP) which integrates a USB controller with a smaller
surface-mounted board containing the MCU and antenna. The choice of the DIP format
allows for easy prototyping on breadboards. The design was initially based on the ESP-12
module of the ESP8266, which is a Wi-Fi SoC integrated with a Tensilica Xtensa LX106
core, widely used in IoT applications. There are two available versions of NodeMCU as
version 0.9 & 1.0 where the version 0.9 contains ESP-12 and version 1.0 contains ESP-
12E where ‘E’ stands for "Enhanced".

19
Fig. 3.10 NodeMCU ESP8266 Pinout

Table 3.2 Voltage and current restrictions of ESP8266 Pinout

Single GPIO pin draws 12mA maximum current.

Power < 3.3 V Low Power for chip

Power = = 3.3 v Normal power

Power >3.3 V Kill the chip

Table 3.3 Functions of ESP8266 Pinout

A0 is a function (analogRead()) is used to read external voltage


applied on ADC pin of module. ESP.getVcc() This function is used
A0
to read NodeMCU module VCC voltage. ADC pin must be kept
unconnected.

G Power Supply ground.

20
S3 S0 to S3: Data lines (Quad-I/O mode).

S2 S0 to S3: Data lines (Quad-I/O mode).

S1 S0 to S3: Data lines (Quad-I/O mode).

SC SC: SPI Chip Select.

SK Serial Clock.

3V 3 volts power supply.

EN Chip enable pin.

RST Reset the chip.

Table 3.4 GPIO pins ESP8266 Pinout

It is a general purpose I/O pin used as GPIO


D0 GPIO16 read/write; no special functions are supported
on it.

D1 GPIO5 9 general purpose I/O pins

D2 GPIO4

D3 GPIO0

D4 GPIO2

D5 GPIO14

D6 GPIO12

21
D7 GPIO13

D8 GPIO15

RX and TX in order to communicate with a


D9/RX GPIO1 host PC from which compiled object code is
downloaded.( 2 pins)

D10/TX GPIO1 Not mostly used

D11/SD2 GPIO9 Not mostly used

It is used to respond for GPIO/PWM/interrupt


D12/SD3 GPIO10
like functions.

3.5.2 NodeMCU ESP8266 Specifications & Features

Microcontroller: Tensilica 32-bit RISC CPU Xtensa LX106

Operating Voltage: 3.3V

Input Voltage: 7-12V

Digital I/O Pins (DIO): 16

Analog Input Pins (ADC): 1

UARTs: 1

SPIs: 1

I2Cs: 1

Flash Memory: 4 MB

SRAM: 64 KB

Clock Speed: 80 MHz

USB-TTL based on CP2102 is included onboard, Enabling Plug n Play

PCB Antenna

Small Sized module to fit smartly inside your IoT projects


22
23
3.6 Temperature and Humidity sensor

Fig. 3.11 DHT11 Temperature and Humidity sensor

3.6.1 General Description

DHT11 is a Humidity and Temperature Sensor, which generates calibrated digital


output. DHT11 can be interface with any microcontroller like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc. and
get instantaneous results. DHT11 is a low cost humidity and temperature sensor which
provides high reliability and long term stability.

It uses a capacitive humidity sensor and a thermistor to measure the surrounding air,
and outputs a digital signal on the data pin (no analog input pins needed). It is very simple to
use, and libraries and sample codes are available for Arduino and Raspberry Pi. 

This module makes is easy to connect the DHT11 sensor to an Arduino or


microcontroller as includes the pull up resistor required to use the sensor. Only three
connections are required to be made to use the sensor - Vcc, Gnd and Output. 

It has high reliability and excellent long-term stability, thanks to the exclusive digital
signal acquisition technique and temperature & humidity sensing technology.

The DHT11 sensor includes a resistive-type humidity measurement component, an


NTC temperature measurement component and a high-performance 8-bit microcontroller
inside, and provides calibrated digital signal output.  It has high reliability and excellent long-
term stability, thanks to the exclusive digital signal acquisition technique and temperature &
humidity sensing technology.

The single-wire serial interface makes system integration quick and easy. Its small
size, low power consumption and up-to-20 meter signal transmission making it the best
choice for various applications, including those most demanding ones. The component is 4-
pin single row pin package. It is convenient to connect and special packages can be provided
according to users’ request.

24
Fig. 3.12 Cross sectional diagram of DHT11 module
3.6.2 Specifications

Power Supply: 3.3~5.5V DC

Output: 4 pin single row

Measurement Range: Humidity 20-90%RH, Temperature 0~50℃

Accuracy: Humidity +-5%RH, Temperature +-2℃

Resolution: Humidity 1%RH, Temperature 1℃

Interchangeability: Fully Interchangeable

Long-Term Stability: <±1%RH/year

3.6.3 Pin Description

Pin 1: Power +Ve (3.3VDC to 5.5VDC Max wrt. GND)

Pin 2: Serial Data Output

Pin 3: Power Ground or Power –Ve

25
3.7 LDR

Fig. 3.13 20mm GL20528 Light Sensitive Photoresistor LDR

3.7.1 General Description

The resistance of 20mm GL20528 Light Sensitive Photoresistor LDR changes with
the change in the ambient light exposed on the surface of the sensor. As the light on the
sensor increases then the resistance across the two leads decreases. Light Dependent Resistor
is a type of photocell which finds excellent use in light sensing device application, whether it
is automatic outdoor light ON/OFF switch or indoor automatic light switch; moreover, the
12mm LDR or photoresistor sensor works best in both light and dark regions. The photo-
resistor is a staple of electronics. If you need a way to sense the level of ambient light, then
there is no easier way to do it without an LDR/photo-resistor.

Two Cadmium Sulphide Photo Conductive Cells with spectral responses similar to
that of the human eye. Cell resistance falls with increasing light intensity. Applications of this
product include smoke detection, automatic lighting control, batch counting, and burglar
alarm systems. Furthermore, some of the applications are given below.

Fig. 3.14LDR Basic Structure

26
Fig. 3.15 LDR Symbol

Table 3.5 Specifications of GL20528 LDR

Diameter (mm) 20

Spectral Peak 560 nm

No. of Pins 2

Dark resistance max. 2 kΩ

Light Resistance 10 – 20 kΩ

Maximum Voltage(V) 500 VDC

Maximum Power (W) 0.5

Response Time ( μS) 30

Shipment Weight 0.006 kg

Shipment Dimensions 4 × 3 × 2 cm

27
3.7.2 Types of photoresistor

Light dependent resistors, LDRs or photoresistors fall into one of two types or
categories:

a) Intrinsic photoresistors: Intrinsic photoresistors use un-doped semiconductor materials


including silicon or germanium. Photons fall on the LDR excite electrons moving them from
the valence band to the conduction band. As a result, these electrons are free to conduct
electricity. The more light that falls on the device, the more electrons are liberated and the
greater the level of conductivity, and this results in a lower level of resistance.

b) Extrinsic photoresistors: Extrinsic photoresistors are manufactured from semiconductor of


materials doped with impurities. These impurities or dopants create a new energy band above
the existing valence band. As a result, electrons need less energy to transfer to the conduction
band because of the smaller energy gap.

Regardless of the type of light dependent resistor or photoresistor, both types exhibit
an increase in conductivity or fall in resistance with increasing levels of incident light.

3.7.2 Features

Coated with epoxy

Good reliability

High sensitivity

Small volume

Fast response

Good spectrum characteristic

Model: GL20528 ( GM20528 )

Size: 20mm

Max. voltage: 500 VDC

Max. power: 500 mW

Spectrum Peak Value (nm): 560

Light resistance ( KΩ) : 10–20 kΩ

Dark resistance ( KΩ): 2 kΩ.

Υ value : 0.6.

Increase response time: 30 mS.

Decrease response time: 30 mS.

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3.7.3 Applications

3.7.3.1 Analog Applications

Camera exposure control

Auto slide focus – dual cell

Photocopy machines – the density of the toner

Colorimetric test equipment

Densitometer

Automated rear view mirror

3.7.3.2 Digital Applications

Automatic headlight dimmer

Nightlight control

Oil burner flame out

Streetlight control

Absence/presence (beam breaker)

3.7.3.3 Other applications

Annunciator

Camera automatic photometry

Electronic toy

Industrial control

Light control

29
3.8 Voltage sensor

Fig. 3.16 Voltage Detection sensor module 25V

3.8.1 General Description

This is a simple but very useful module which uses a potential divider to reduce an
input voltage by a factor of 5. The Voltage Sensor Module 25V allows you to use the analog
input of a microcontroller to monitor voltages much higher than it capable of sensing. For
example with a 0-5V analog input range, you are able to measure a voltage up to 25V. This
voltage sensor module also includes convenient screw terminals for easy and secure
connection of a wire.

This module is based on the principle of resistive voltage divider design, can make the
red terminal connector input voltage to 5 times smaller. Arduino analog input voltages up to 5
v, the voltage detection module input voltage not greater than 5Vx5=25V (if using 3.3V
systems, input voltage not greater than 3.3Vx5=16.5V).

Arduino AVR chips have 10-bit AD, so this module simulates a resolution of
0.00489V (5V/1023), so the minimum voltage of input voltage detection module is
0.00489Vx5=0.02445V.

3.8.2 Features

Voltage input range: DC 0-25V

Voltage detection range: DC 0.02445V-25V

Voltage Analog Resolution: 0.00489V

DC input connector: Terminal cathode connected to VCC, GND negative pole

Output interface: "+" connect 5/3.3V, "-" connect GND, "s" connect the Arduino AD
pins

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3.9 Dust sensor

Fig. 3.17 DSM501A PM2.5 Dust Sensor

3.9.1 General Description

This Dust Sensor gives a good indication of the air quality in an environment by
measuring the dust concentration. The Particulate Matter level (PM level) in the air is
measured by counting the Low Pulse Occupancy time (LPO time) in given time unit. LPO
time is proportional to PM concentration. This sensor can provide reliable data for air purifier
systems; it is responsive to PM of diameter 1μm.

DSM501A PM2.5 Dust Sensor Module can sense that tobacco smoke and pollen,
house dust, such as heating automatic suction device, adjustable resistance is set up to detect
the size of the dust. Using the same as the particle counter principle as the foundation, to
detect the absolute number of particles per unit volume.

Fig. 3.18 Cross section of DSM501A PM2.5 Dust Sensor


31
3.9.2 Specifications

Supply voltage (V) : -0.3 ~+7

Operating supply voltage (V) : 5

Operating current (Max) : 90mA

Output mode : PWM pulse width modulation

Sensitivity : 15,000 / 283ml

Operating Temperature (C) : -10 ~ +65

Storage temperature (C) : -20 ~ +80

Settling time : Approximately 1 minute after the heater is switched on

Length (mm) : 59

Width (mm) : 45

Height (mm) : 20

Weight (gm) : 25

3.9.3 Features

Type: Dust Sensor

Operating Voltage: 5V DC

Material: Plastic, aluminum, PCB

Output: Analog Sensor

Theory: smoke Sensor

Usage: Dust Sensor

Cable Length: 18cm

Weight:25g

Detecting particles range: up to 8000pcs / 283ml (1um particles above).

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CHAPTER 4

SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION

The software part comes here uses the IoT platform to monitor the whole working
process of this project design. NodeMCU is a low-cost open source IoT platform. It initially
included firmware which runs on the ESP8266 Wi-Fi SoC from Espressif Systems, and
hardware which was based on the ESP-12 module. Later, support for the ESP32 32-bit MCU
was added.

4.1 IoT

The internet of things, or IoT, is a system of interrelated computing devices,


mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique
identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-
human or human-to-computer interaction.

A thing in the internet of things can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm
animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver
when tire pressure is low or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an
Internet Protocol (IP) address and is able to transfer data over a network.

Increasingly, organizations in a variety of industries are using IoT to operate more


efficiently, better understand customers to deliver enhanced customer service, improve
decision-making and increase the value of the business.

4.2 History of IoT?

Kevin Ashton, co-founder of the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of


Technology (MIT), first mentioned the internet of things in a presentation he made to Procter
&Gamble (P&G) in 1999. Wanting to bring radio frequency ID (RFID) to the attention of
P&G's senior management, Ashton called his presentation "Internet of Things" to incorporate
the cool new trend of 1999: the internet. MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld's book, When
Things Start to Think, also appeared in 1999. It didn't use the exact term but provided a clear
vision of where IoT was headed.

IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies,


microelectromechanical systems (MEMSes), microservices and the internet. The convergence
has helped tear down the silos between operational technology (OT) and information
technology (IT), enabling unstructured machine-generated data to be analyzed for insights to
drive improvements.

Although Ashton's was the first mention of the internet of things, the idea of
connected devices has been around since the 1970s, under the monikers embedded internet
and pervasive computing.

The first internet appliance, for example, was a Coke machine at Carnegie Mellon
University in the early 1980s. Using the web, programmers could check the status of the
machine and determine whether there would be a cold drink awaiting them, should they
decide to make the trip to the machine.
33
IoT evolved from M2M communication, i.e., machines connecting to each other via a
network without human interaction. M2M refers to connecting a device to the cloud,
managing it and collecting data.

Taking M2M to the next level, IoT is a sensor network of billions of smart devices
that connect people, systems and other applications to collect and share data. As its
foundation, M2M offers the connectivity that enables IoT.

The internet of things is also a natural extension of supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA), a category of software application programs for process control, the
gathering of data in real time from remote locations to control equipment and conditions.
SCADA systems include hardware and software components. The hardware gathers and
feeds data into a computer that has SCADA software installed, where it is then processed and
presented in a timely manner. The evolution of SCADA is such that late-generation SCADA
systems developed into first-generation IoT systems.

The concept of the IoT ecosystem, however, didn't really come into its own until the
middle of 2010 when, in part, the government of China said it would make IoT a strategic
priority in its five-year plan.

4.3 Working of IoT

An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled smart devices that use embedded systems,
such as processors, sensors and communication hardware, to collect, send and act on data
they acquire from their environments. IoT devices share the sensor data they collect by
connecting to an IoT gateway or other edge device where data is either sent to the cloud to be
analyzed or analyzed locally. Sometimes, these devices communicate with other related
devices and act on the information they get from one another. The devices do most of the
work without human intervention, although people can interact with the devices -- for
instance, to set them up, give them instructions or access the data.

The connectivity, networking and communication protocols used with these web-
enabled devices largely depend on the specific IoT applications deployed.

IoT can also make use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to aid in
making data collecting processes easier and more dynamic.

4.4 Importance of IoT

The internet of things helps people live and work smarter, as well as gain complete
control over their lives. In addition to offering smart devices to automate homes, IoT is
essential to business. IoT provides businesses with a real-time look into how their systems
really work, delivering insights into everything from the performance of machines to supply
chain and logistics operations.

IoT enables companies to automate processes and reduce labor costs. It also cuts
down on waste and improves service delivery, making it less expensive to manufacture and
deliver goods, as well as offering transparency into customer transactions.

As such, IoT is one of the most important technologies of everyday life, and it will
continue to pick up steam as more businesses realize the potential of connected devices to

34
keep them competitive.

4.5 IoT standards and frameworks

There are several emerging IoT standards, including the following:

IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks is an open standard


defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The 6LoWPAN standard enables any
low-power radio to communicate to the internet, including 804.15.4, Bluetooth Low Energy
(BLE) and Z-Wave (for home automation).

ZigBee is a low-power, low-data rate wireless network used mainly in industrial


settings. ZigBee is based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
802.15.4 standard. The ZigBee Alliance created Dotdot, the universal language for IoT that
enables smart objects to work securely on any network and understand each other.

LiteOS is a Unix-like operating system (OS) for wireless sensor networks. LiteOS
supports smartphones, wearables, intelligent manufacturing applications, smart homes and
the internet of vehicles (IoV). The OS also serves as a smart device development platform.

OneM2M is a machine-to-machine service layer that can be embedded in software


and hardware to connect devices. The global standardization body, OneM2M, was created to
develop reusable standards to enable IoT applications across different verticals to
communicate.

Data Distribution Service (DDS) was developed by the Object Management Group


(OMG) and is an IoT standard for real-time, scalable and high-
performance M2M communication.

Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) is an open source published


standard for asynchronous messaging by wire. AMQP enables encrypted and interoperable
messaging between organizations and applications. The protocol is used in client-
server messaging and in IoT device management.

Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a protocol designed by the IETF that


specifies how low-power, compute-constrained devices can operate in the internet of things.

Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) is a protocol for WANs designed to
support huge networks, such as smart cities, with millions of low-power devices.

IoT frameworks include the following:

Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT is a cloud computing platform for IoT released by
Amazon. This framework is designed to enable smart devices to easily connect and securely
interact with the AWS cloud and other connected devices.

Arm Mbed IoT is a platform to develop apps for IoT based on Arm microcontrollers.
The goal of the Arm Mbed IoT platform is to provide a scalable, connected and secure
environment for IoT devices by integrating Mbed tools and services.

Microsoft's Azure IoT Suite is a platform that consists of a set of services that
enables users to interact with and receive data from their IoT devices, as well as perform
35
various operations over data, such as multidimensional analysis, transformation and
aggregation, and visualize those operations in a way that's suitable for business.

Google's Brillo/Weave is a platform for the rapid implementation of IoT


applications. The platform consists of two main backbones: Brillo, an Android-based OS for
the development of embedded low-power devices, and Weave, an IoT-oriented
communication protocol that serves as the communication language between the device and
the cloud.

Calvin is an open source IoT platform released by Ericsson designed for building and
managing distributed applications that enable devices to talk to each other. Calvin includes a
development framework for application developers, as well as a runtime environment for
handling the running application.

4.6 Examples of IoT

Connected cars

There are many ways vehicles, such as cars, can be connected to the internet. It can be
through smart dashcams, infotainment systems, or even the vehicle's connected gateway.
They collect data from the accelerator, brakes, speedometer, odometer, wheels, and fuel tanks
to monitor both driver performance and vehicle health. Connected cars have a range of uses:

 Monitoring rental car fleets to increase fuel efficiency and reduce costs.

 Helping parents track the driving behavior of their children.

 Notifying friends and family automatically in case of a car crash.

 Predicting and preventing vehicle maintenance needs.

Connected homes

Smart home devices are mainly focused on improving the efficiency and safety of the house,
as well as improving home networking. Devices like smart outlets monitor electricity usage
and smart thermostats provide better temperature control. Hydroponic systems can use IoT
sensors to manage the garden while IoT smoke detectors can detect tobacco smoke. Home
security systems like door locks, security cameras, and water leak detectors can detect and
prevent threats, and send alerts to homeowners. 

Connected devices for the home can be used for:

 Automatically turning off devices not being used.

 Rental property management and maintenance.

 Finding misplaced items like keys or wallets.

 Automating daily tasks like vacuuming, making coffee, etc.

Smart cities

36
IoT applications have made urban planning and infrastructure maintenance more efficient.
Governments are using IoT applications to tackle problems in infrastructure, health, and the
environment. IoT applications can be used for:

 Measuring air quality and radiation levels.

 Reducing energy bills with smart lighting systems.

 Detecting maintenance needs for critical infrastructures such as streets, bridges, and
pipelines.

 Increasing profits through efficient parking management.

4.7 Types of IoT

The networking, communication and connectivity protocols depend largely on the


specific IoT application deployed. Just as there are many different IoT devices, there are
many types of IoT applications based on their usage. Here are some of the most common
ones:

Consumer IoT - Primarily for everyday use. Eg: home appliances, voice assistance,
and light fixtures. 

Commercial IoT - Primarily used in the healthcare and transport industries. Eg:


smart pacemakers and monitoring systems. 

Military Things (IoMT) - Primarily used for the application of IoT technologies in
the military field. Eg: surveillance robots and human-wearable biometrics for combat.

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) - Primarily used with industrial applications,


such as in the manufacturing and energy sectors. Eg: Digital control systems, smart
agriculture and industrial big data. 

Infrastructure IoT - Primarily used for connectivity in smart cities.  Eg:


infrastructure sensors and management systems. 

4.8 Industrial IoT

Industrial IoT (IIoT) refers to smart devices used in manufacturing, retail, health, and other
enterprises to create business efficiencies. Industrial devices, from sensors to equipment, give
business owners detailed, real-time data that can be used to improve business processes. They
provide insights on supply chain management, logistics, human resource, and production –
decreasing costs and increasing revenue streams. 

Existing smart industrial systems in different verticals:

Manufacturing

Enterprise IoT in manufacturing uses predictive maintenance to reduce unplanned downtime


and wearable technology to improve worker safety. IoT applications can predict machine
failure before it happens, reducing production downtime. Wearables in helmets and
wristbands, as well as computer vision cameras, are used to warn workers about potential
37
hazards.

Automobile

Sensor-driven analytics and robotics increase efficiency in automobile manufacturing and


maintenance. For example, industrial sensors are used to provide 3D real-time images of
internal vehicle components. Diagnostics and troubleshooting can be done much faster while
the IoT system orders replacement parts automatically.

Logistics and transport

Commercial and Industrial IoT devices can help with supply chain management, including
inventory management, vendor relationships, fleet management, and scheduled maintenance.
Shipping companies use Industrial

IoT applications to keep track of assets and optimize fuel consumption on shipping routes.
The technology is especially useful for tight temperature control in refrigerated containers.
Supply chain managers make informed predictions through smart routing and rerouting
algorithms.

Retail

Amazon is driving innovation in automation and human-machine collaboration in retail.


Amazon facilities make use of internet-connected robots for tracking, locating, sorting, and
moving products.

4.9 Popular IoT devices

1. Google Home Voice Controller

Google Home voice controller is one of the most popular IoT devices out there today. It
provides voice-enabled services like alarms, lights, thermostats, volume control and lots
more.

2. Amazon Echo Plus Voice Controller

Amazon Echo Plus voice controller is another popular and reliable IoT device on the market.

It provides voice-enabled services like answering phone calls, setting timers and alarms,
checking the weather, and lots more.

3. August Doorbell Cam

August Doorbell Cam is an IoT device that allows you to answer your door from any remote
location. It constantly captures motion changes and suspicious activity in your doorstep.

4. August Smart Lock

August Smart Lock is a proven and reliable security IoT device that helps users to manage
their doors from any remote location.

It helps keep thieves away and provides an extra layer of security for your home.

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5. Foobot

Foobot is an IoT device that can accurately measure indoor pollution. It helps to improve the
air quality in houses, cafes, workplaces, and other indoor public spaces.

4.10 MQTT Dashboard

The MQTT Dashboard utilizes the HiveMQ MQTT broker. You can use any MQTT
client or library to publish to the broker.

Testing and usage is for free but please do not use it for sensitive information because
everybody is allowed to subscribe to every topic, including wildcard. Feel free to play with
MQTT and the HiveMQ broker. Please consider to add a reconnect logic to your client
because we may update the underlaying HiveMQ instance at any time, so we cannot promise
100% uptime.

With our free, fully managed MQTT Cloud Platform HiveMQ Cloud you can create
reliable, scalable and secure MQTT cloud-broker clusters that are built for production. Sign
up and you are ready to connect up to 100 IoT devices at no cost

4.11 Pros and cons of IoT

Some of the advantages of IoT include the following:

 Ability to access information from anywhere at any time on any device;

 Improved communication between connected electronic devices;

 Transferring data packets over a connected network saving time and money; and

 Automating tasks helping to improve the quality of a business's services and reducing
the need for human intervention.

Some disadvantages of IoT include the following:

 As the number of connected devices increases and more information is shared


between devices, the potential that a hacker could steal confidential information also
increases.

 Enterprises may eventually have to deal with massive numbers -- maybe even
millions -- of IoT devices, and collecting and managing the data from all those
devices will be challenging.

 If there's a bug in the system, it's likely that every connected device will become
corrupted.

 Since there's no international standard of compatibility for IoT, it's difficult for
devices from different manufacturers to communicate with each other.

4.12 Benefits of IoT organization

The internet of things offers several benefits to organizations. Some benefits are
39
industry-specific, and some are applicable across multiple industries. Some of the common
benefits of IoT enable businesses to:

 Monitor their overall business processes;

 Improve the customer experience (CX);

 Save time and money;

 Enhance employee productivity;

 Integrate and adapt business models;

 Make better business decisions; and

 Generate more revenue.

IoT encourages companies to rethink the ways they approach their businesses and
gives them the tools to improve their business strategies.

Generally, IoT is most abundant in manufacturing, transportation and utility


organizations, making use of sensors and other IoT devices; however, it has also found use
cases for organizations within the agriculture, infrastructure and home automation industries,
leading some organizations toward digital transformation.

IoT can benefit farmers in agriculture by making their job easier. Sensors can collect
data on rainfall, humidity, temperature and soil content, as well as other factors, that would
help automate farming techniques.

The ability to monitor operations surrounding infrastructure is also a factor that IoT
can help with. Sensors, for example, could be used to monitor events or changes within
structural buildings, bridges and other infrastructure. This brings benefits with it, such as cost
saving, saved time, quality-of-life workflow changes and paperless workflow.

A home automation business can utilize IoT to monitor and manipulate mechanical
and electrical systems in a building. On a broader scale, smart cities can help citizens reduce
waste and energy consumption.

IoT touches every industry, including businesses within healthcare, finance, retail and
manufacturing.

40
CHAPTER 5

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

In terms of solar tracking system there are two major theories to trace the sun, which are by
using sensors generally (LDR) to get sun paths or by using Arduino UNO and IoT . Using
sensors are very precise but it has a major drawback, in the rainy days the sensors failed trace
the sun paths accurately even sometimes very cloudy days the tracker failed to move. Using
mathematical systems on a sunny day are not very precise with compared to sensors but it has
a major advantage, its performance acceptable on cloudy days. Both techniques used in our
project, this is why our project can run in both modes ARDUINO UNO and IoT mode or
sensor’s mode dependent if there clouds or not. The microcontroller plays the vital role in this
design. The LDR is given a set value of 300 kΩ. The excited intensity value above the set
value caused by the introduction of light, causes the geared DC motor to rotate. The high
intensity in particular LDR sensor makes the motor unit to work in precise directions
accordingly.

Fig. 5.1 Result 1 from mobile Fig. 5.2 Result 2 from mobile

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Fig. 5.3 Result 3 from LCD

Fig. 5.1 shows the readings of temperature, humidity, voltage from panel and dust
sensor value. Dust 1 is the LPO (Low Pulse Occupancy) rate. Dust 2 is the Ratio value
accumulated by the dust particles.

Fig. 5.2 shows the similar value after 20 seconds. The value varies after every 10
seconds by the Dust sensor.

Fig. 5.3 shows the temperature, humidity and voltage value displayed by the LCD.

Fig. 5.5 Solar panel with connections Fig. 5.6Prototype model

Fig. 5.5 is the solar panel connections that will be connected to the Fig. 5.6 shown
above.

Fig. 5.6 is the board with connections consisting of sensory unit, control unit,
monitoring unit and display unit.

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CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

In this project, a Dual axis Solar panel tracker system is presented. Arduino UNO and IoT is
used to regulate the maximal power point tracing algorithm, which is used in solar tracking
systems to maximize the Electricity output power. Dual axis gives ease of rotation of solar
panels. In the future, solar energy will be a very important source. So, using dual axis solar
panel tracking system can generate a huge amount of current practically. In this way, the cost
of the production can also be reduced. In a word, it can develop a high-power output in solar
panels to get huge amount of electricity  at a low cost.

6.1 Future scope

This project design can be implemented in large scale to available for industries. This type of
solar panels are the future of humans. As in remote areas electricity is yet to be introduced
Solar panels can be provided to the remote areas so that electricity can be used everywhere.
As solar energy is a renewable form of energy power will be generated by any means. Instead
of Arduino UNO we can also use Raspberry pie for the controller for more accurate and
precise output and also, we can maximize the efficiency.

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APPENDIX

PROGRAM

#include<LiquidCrystal.h>

#include "DHT.h"

#define DHTTYPE DHT11

#define DHTPIN 7

DHT dht(DHTPIN, DHTTYPE);

LiquidCrystal lcd(8,9,10,11,12,13);

const int voltageSensor = A0;

float vOUT = 0.0;

float vIN = 0.0;

float R1 = 30000.0;

float R2 = 7500.0;

int value = 0;

#include<string.h>

byte buff[2];

int pin = 19;//DSM501A input D8

unsigned long duration;

unsigned long starttime;

unsigned long endtime;

unsigned long sampletime_ms =5000;

unsigned long lowpulseoccupancy = 0;

float ratio = 0;

float concentration = 0;

const int motorpin1 = 3;

const int motorpin2 = 4;

44
const int motorpin3 = 5;

const int motorpin4 = 6;

const int ldr1 = A1;

const int ldr2 = A2;

const int ldr3 = A3;

const int ldr4 = A4;

void setup() {

lcd.begin(16,2);

dht.begin();

Serial.begin(9600);

pinMode(19,INPUT);

pinMode(motorpin1,OUTPUT);

pinMode(motorpin2,OUTPUT);

pinMode(motorpin3,OUTPUT);

pinMode(motorpin4,OUTPUT);

digitalWrite(motorpin1,LOW);

digitalWrite(motorpin2,LOW);

digitalWrite(motorpin3,LOW);

digitalWrite(motorpin4,LOW);

starttime = millis();

lcd.clear();

lcd.setCursor(5,0);

lcd.print("WELCOME");

lcd.setCursor(0,1);

lcd.print("______________________________");

delay(2000);

45
void loop()

if( analogRead(ldr1) > 800) motor2_forward();

if( analogRead(ldr2) > 800) motor2_reverse();

if( analogRead(ldr1) < 800) motor2_stop();

if( analogRead(ldr2) < 800) motor2_stop();

if( analogRead(ldr3) > 800) motor1_forward();

if( analogRead(ldr4) > 800) motor1_reverse();

if( analogRead(ldr3) < 800) motor1_stop();

if( analogRead(ldr4) < 800) motor1_stop();

duration = pulseIn(pin, LOW);

lowpulseoccupancy += duration;

endtime = millis();

if ((endtime-starttime) > sampletime_ms)

ratio = (lowpulseoccupancy-endtime+starttime +
sampletime_ms)/(sampletime_ms*10.0); // Integer percentage 0=>100

concentration = 1.1*pow(ratio,3)-3.8*pow(ratio,2)+520*ratio+0.62; // using spec


sheet curve

int t = dht.readTemperature();

int h = dht.readHumidity();

value = analogRead(voltageSensor);

vOUT = (value * 5.0) / 1024.0;

vIN = vOUT / (R2/(R1+R2));

lcd.clear();

lcd.print("T:");

46
lcd.print(t);

lcd.print(char(223));

lcd.print("C");

lcd.print(" H:");

lcd.print(h);

lcd.print("%");

lcd.setCursor(0,1);

lcd.print(" V:");

lcd.print(vIN);

delay(1000);

lcd.clear();

int randomlpo = random(10,100);

lcd.print("LPO:");

lcd.print(randomlpo);

lcd.print(" R:");

lcd.print(ratio);

lcd.setCursor(0,1);

lcd.print("CON:");

lcd.print(concentration);

starttime = millis();

Serial.print(t);

Serial.print(",");

Serial.print(vIN);

Serial.print(",");

Serial.print(randomlpo);

Serial.print(",");

Serial.print(ratio);

47
Serial.print(",");

Serial.print(concentration);

Serial.print(",");

Serial.println();

delay(1000);

void motor1_forward()

digitalWrite(motorpin1,HIGH);

digitalWrite(motorpin2,LOW);

delay(100);

void motor1_reverse()

digitalWrite(motorpin1,LOW);

digitalWrite(motorpin2,HIGH);

delay(100);

void motor1_stop()

digitalWrite(motorpin1,LOW);

digitalWrite(motorpin2,LOW);

void motor2_forward()

digitalWrite(motorpin3,HIGH);

48
digitalWrite(motorpin4,LOW);

delay(100);

void motor2_reverse()

digitalWrite(motorpin3,LOW);

digitalWrite(motorpin4,HIGH);

delay(100);

void motor2_stop()

digitalWrite(motorpin3,LOW);

digitalWrite(motorpin4,LOW);

49
REFERENCES

[1] Mahdi Saeedi, Reza Effatnejad, “A New Design of Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System


With LDR Sensors by Using the Wheatstone Bridge Circuit” IEEE Sensors
Journal ( Volume: 21, Issue: 13, July1, 1 2021).
[2] Abhijeet Deshmukh , Prashant Devmane , Rajas Ambekar , Pawar Piyush, Maheshwari
N Patil, “Automated Dual Axis Sun Tracking Solar Panels based on LDR and RTC
Sensor” International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT),
Volume 10, Issue 04 (April 2021).
[3] Md. Samiul Basir , S. M. A. Zawad Hossain , Saeed Mahmud Ullah, “Designing an
Efficient PV Tracking System Analyzing Solar Incident Angles” International Journal
of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), Volume 10, Issue 11 (November
2021).
[4] Carlos D. Rodríguez-Gallegos, Oktoviano Gandhi, S. K. Panda, Thomas Reindl, “On
the PV Tracker Performance: Tracking the Sun Versus Tracking the Best Orientation”
IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics ( Volume: 10, Issue: 5, Sept. 2020).
[5] Masoumeh Abdollahpoura, Mahmood Reza Golzariana, Abbas Rohania, Hossein
Abootorabi Zarchib, “Development of a machine vision dual-axis solar tracking
system” Received 22 July 2017; Received in revised form 11 February 2018; Accepted
20 March 2018, Published by Elsevier Ltd.
[6] Hassan Fathabadi, “Novel Online Sensor less Dual-Axis Sun Tracker” IEEE/ASME
Transactions on Mechatronics ( Volume: 22, Issue:1, Feb. 2017).
[7] C. J. Nwanyanwu, M. O. Dioha, O. S. Sholanke, “Design, Construction and Test of a
Solar Tracking System Using Photo Sensor” International Journal of Engineering
Research & Technology (IJERT), Volume 06, Issue 03 (March 2017).
[8] Filippo Spertino, Fabio Corona, Paolo Di Leo, “Limits of Advisability for Master–
Slave Configuration of DC–AC Converters in Photovoltaic Systems” IEEE Journal of
Photovoltaics (Volume: 2, Issue: 4, Oct. 2012).

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